Biofuels History and Review

Zephen Specht
24 March 2011
Energy Discussion Group
Zephen Specht SDSU Energy Discussion Group

Outline
Historical use of biofuels through the ages and
competition with petroleum based fuels.
Current usages of biofuels here in the United
States.
Analyzing different types of biofuels:

Ethanol and flex fuels

Biodiesel from vegetable oil
Biodiesel from algae
Engery derived from Biomass

Listing the local companies that are working on

biofuels.
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Biofuels (general)

Biofuel is defined as fuel derived from

biological materials, including materials from
organisms that died relatively recently and from
the metabolic by-products of living organisms.1,2
In general, the term covers solid and liquid fuels
as well as various biogases.

1.
2.

low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops

agricultural or forestry waste
other sustainable biomass feedstocks, including algae

Demirbas, A., Applied Energy, 2009, 86 S108S117.

Bungay H. R., Science, 1982, 643-646.
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Early Applications
Biofuels in the solid form has been in use ever
since man discovered fire.
Wood was the first form of biofuel that was used even
by the ancient people for cooking and heating.

Liquid biofuels soon followed.

Olive oil, as well as other oils derived from plants and
animals, has been used for lamp oil since antiquity.3
Whale oil was also used until the modern method for
refining kerosene was developed in 1846 by Abraham
Gesner.4
3.
4.

Appolonia-Arsuf, Sussman V., 1983, The Samaritan Oil Lamps from Apolonia-*Arsuf, TA 10,
pp. 71-96.
Russell, L. S., 2003, A Heritage of Light: Lamps and Lighting in the Early Canadian Home,
University of Toronto Press.
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Early Engines
Several of the early automotive engines developed in the
late 17th century utilized steam power 5
By the 18th century gasoline or petrol-fueled engines were
being invented.
Rudolf Diesel is the German inventor of the diesel engine.
He designed his diesel engine to run in peanut oil.6
Henry Ford designed the Model T car which was produced
from 1903 to 1926. This car was completely designed to
use hemp derived biofuel as fuel.7
5.
6.
7.

Eckermann, E., 2001, World History of the Automobile, SAE Press.

Knothe G. Inform, 2001, 12, 103-1107.
New York Times, Ford Predicts Fuel from Vegetation, Sept. 20, 1925, p. 24.
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World War II and

Fuel Shortages
During World War II, the high
demand of biofuels was due to
the increased use as an alternative
for imported fuel.8
Germany developed the use of gasoline along with
alcohol that was derived from potatoes (Monopolin).
Britain was the second country which came up with the
concept of grain alcohol mixed with petrol (Discol).

After WWII was over cheap oil from the gulf

countries, as well as the Middle East, again eased
off the pressure.
8.

Nag, A., 2007, Biofuels Refining and Performance. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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Recent Fuel Shortages

America has had several fuel shortages since the
1970s.9
1973 oil crisis - caused by an OPEC (Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil export embargo.
1979 oil crisis - caused by the Iranian Revolution.
1990 oil price shock - caused by the Gulf War.

This lead many countries, including the U.S., to

begin adding ethanol to their fuel.
With the growing realization of the worlds
environmental problems and critical instabilities in
the Middle East, biofuels have become the center
of attention of world governments.
9.

Hammes, D., Wills, D. The Independent Review, 2005, v. IX (n. 4), 501511.
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Biomass and the EIA

Biomass waste: Organic non-fossil material of
biological origin that is a byproduct or a discarded
product. Biomass waste includes municipal solid
waste from biogenic sources, landfill gas, sludge
waste, agricultural crop byproducts, straw, and
other biomass solids, liquids, and gases; but
excludes wood and wood-derived fuels (including
black liquor), biofuels feedstock, biodiesel, and
fuel ethanol.10
10. U.S. Energy Information Administration; www.eia.doe.gov
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Specific Types of Biofuels

Biodiesel: A fuel typically made from soybean,
canola, or other vegetable oils; animal fats; and
recycled grease.
It can serve as a substitute for petroleum-derived
diesel or distillate fuel.
For EIA reporting, it is a fuel composed of mono-alkyl
esters of long chain fatty acids derived from vegetable
oils or animal fats, designated B100, and meeting the
requirements of ASTM (American Society for Testing
materials) D 6751

These are used primarily for transportation and do

not include ethanol blended fuels.
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Current Production of Biofuel for

Energy by State

As of 2009, the United

States had 122 active
biodiesel producers with
total production capacity
of 2 billion gallons.
Monthly production was
61 million gallons
Soybean oil was the
largest feedstock input
for 2009, followed by
tallow and white grease
respectively.
Soybean oil used for
production of 1.97
billion pounds.
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Renewable energy consumption increased by about 8% between 2008

and 2009, contributing about 8% of the Nations total energy demand,
and 10% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2009.
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Most Renewable Energy Goes to

Producing Electricity
About 26% of renewable energy used was
biomass consumed by industry for industrial
applications (principally paper-making) by
facilities producing only heat and steam.
The largest share of the renewable-generated
electricity in 2009 came from hydroelectric energy
(66%), followed by wind (17%), wood (9%),
biomass waste (4%), geothermal (4%), and solar
(0.2%).11
11. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 2009, Table 8.2a (August 2010).
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The Energy Independence &

Security Act

RFS2 Rule and 2022 Projections

Significantly increased volumes of renewable fuel, from 11
billion gallons to 36 billion gallons by 2022.
Expanded from on road gasoline to on and off-road gasoline
and diesel.
Separation of the volume requirements into four separate
categories of renewable fuel: cellulosic biofuel, biomassbased diesel, advanced biofuel, total renewable fuel.
Changes to the definition of renewable fuels to include
minimum lifecycle GHG reduction thresholds and
grandfathering of volume from certain facilities.
Restrictions on the types of feedstocks that can be used to
make renewable fuel, and the types of land that can be used
to grow and harvest feedstocks.
Inclusion of specific types of waivers and EPA-generated
credits for cellulosic biofuel.
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12. Argyropoulos P., National Renewable Fuel Standard Program 2010 and Beyond, 2010 Energy
Conference April 6 & 7, 2010, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency.
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Biofuels on the International Level

There are international organizations such as IEA
Bioenergy, established in 1978 by the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
International Energy Agency (IEA), with the aim of
improving cooperation and information exchange between
countries that have national programs in bioenergy
research, development and deployment.13
The U.N. International Biofuels Forum is formed by
Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United States and
the European Commission.
The world leaders in biofuel development and use are
Brazil, United States, France, Sweden and Germany.
13. Press Conference Launching International Biofuels Forum, United Nations Department of
Public Information. March 2 2007.
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Projected Usage

World liquids
consumption in the
IEO2010 Reference
case increases from 86.1
million barrels per day
in 2007 to 110.6 million
barrels per day in
2035.14
Unconventional liquids,
at 12.9 million barrels
per day, make up 12
percent of total liquids
production in 2035.

Figure 30. World production of unconventional liquid fuels in three cases, 2007 and 2035
million barrels per day
20
Shale Oil/Other
Gas-to-Liquids
Coal-to-Liquids
Extra-Heavy Oil
15

Biofuels
Oil Sands/Bitumen

10

0
2007

Reference

Low Oil Price

High Oil Price

2035

14. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2010, Liquid Fuels, July
27 2010.
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Three Main Types of Development

Bioethanol, for flex fuel, is an alcohol made by
fermenting the sugar components of plant
materials
With advanced technology being developed, cellulosic
biomass, such as trees and grasses, are also used as
feedstocks for ethanol production.

Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils, animal fats

or recycled greases using transesterification.
Biodiesel derived from alge, which is similar to
that of vegetable and animal derived fuel.
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Flex Fuel
As a transportation fuel, ethanol can be used as
a total or partial replacement for gasoline.15
About 99% of the fuel ethanol consumed in the U.S. is
added to gasoline in mixtures of up to 10% ethanol and
90% gasoline.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled in
October 2010, that E15 can be used in cars and light trucks
(only) of model year 2007 and newer without causing
damage to the engine and fuel system.
E85 is an alternative fuel that contains up to 85% ethanol.
It is used mainly in the Midwest and South. Vehicles that
use E85 are specially named as flexible fuel vehicles
(FFV).
15. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bioenergy: Background Ethanol, April 10 2010.
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National Renewable Energy

Laboratory and Ethanol
In a preliminary report released in October 2008, the
NREL presented the results of the first evaluations of the
effects of E10, E15 and E20 gasoline blends on vehicle
durability.16
None of the vehicles displayed a malfunction indicator light as a
result of the ethanol blend used
No fuel filter plugging symptoms were observed
No cold start problems were observed at 24C (75F) and 10C
(50F) laboratory conditions
As expected, all test vehicles exhibited a loss in fuel economy
proportional with the lower energy density of ethanol (E20, the
average reduction in fuel economy was 7.7% when compared to
E0)
16. West B., Knoll K., Clark W., Graves R., Orban J., Przesmitzki S., Theiss T. Effects of
Intermediate Ethanol Blends on Legacy Vehicles and Small Non-Road Engines, Report 1, Oak
Ridge National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2008.
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*The Koenigsegg CCXR - V8 producing

1018 hp when running on biofuel

Ethanol Only Fuel

Straight ethanol as an automotive fuel has been
widely used in Brazil since the late seventies for
neat ethanol vehicles.17
Modifications are required for higher ratios of
ethanol18

17. Voegele, E. Sugarcane Economics, March 2009, Ethanol Producer Magazine.

18. Josehp, "Sustainable biofuels: prospects and challenges, pp. 35-36" The Royal Society, 2008.
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Biofuels From Vegetable Oil

Biodiesel from soy oil results, on average,
in a 57% reduction in greenhouse gases
compared to fossil diesel, and biodiesel
produced from waste grease results in an
86% reduction.19
However, for engines designed to burn
diesel fuel, the viscosity of vegetable oil
must be lowered to allow for proper
atomization of the fuel
Otherwise incomplete combustion and carbon
build up will ultimately damage the engine
19. EPA's Renewable Fuel Standards Program Regulatory Impact Analysis, February 2010.
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Synthesis

Animal and plant fats and oils are typically made of triglycerides
which are esters containing three free fatty acids and the trihydric
alcohol, glycerol.
In the transesterification process, the alcohol is deprotonated
with a base to make it a stronger nucleophile.
Ethanol or methanol are used typically to reduce foaming.
The glycerol/alcohol layer is then separated from the fuel.

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Efficiency and Economic Arguments

There are various social, economic, environmental
and technical issues with biofuel production and
use, which have been discussed in the popular
media and scientific journals.
These include:

the "food vs fuel" debate

poverty reduction potential
carbon emissions levels
sustainable biofuel production
deforestation and soil erosion
loss of biodiversity
impact on water resources
energy balance and efficiency.
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Biofuels From Algae

Biofuel from algae offers three main advantages:20
Minimal land use - Algae require much less land than
traditional row crops, such as corn. In addition, algae
can grow on non-arable, nutrient-poor land that wont
support conventional agriculture.
High yielding - Algae grow quickly at a large scale and
can potentially generate up to 50 times more the
amount of oil per acre than row crops, like corn and
soybeans, which produce vegetable oil.
Non-competitive with agriculture - Production of
algae for biofuel doesnt require arable land needed for
food production, fresh water for irrigation, or
application of petroleum-based fertilizers.
20. Duffy J. E., Canuel E. A., Adey W., Swaddle J. P. Science, 2009, 326 p. 1345.
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Harvesting of Micro Algae

Gathering algae consists of separating algae from
the growing medium, drying, and processing it to
obtain the desired product.
Separating algae from its medium is known as
harvesting and depends primarily on the type of
algae.
The high water content of algae must be removed
to enable harvesting.
The most common harvesting processes are:
flocculation
microscreening
centrifugation.
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Algae Oil Extraction

There are 2 main types of mechanical methods:
Expression/Expeller press
Ultrasonic-assisted extraction

There are 3 main types of chemical methods:

Hexane Solvent Method
Soxhlet extraction
Supercritical fluid Extraction

The oil is then chemically processed using an

alcohol and catalyst to drive a transesterification
reaction.
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San Diego Business and

Resources

Biolight Harvesting, Inc

Carbon Capture Corporation
General Atomics
Life Technologies
LiveFuels Inc.
San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology (SDCAB)
Sapphire Energy
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SD-CAB Video

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Alternative Biomass Fuels

In addition to the three types of biofuels that
have already been covered there are also
three other biomass energy sources that you
may find interesting.
Landfill gas
Gasification of biomass
Microbial electroysis

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Landfill Gas
450 of the 2,300 landfills in the
United States have operational
landfill gas utilization projects as
of 2007.21,22
Of the roughly 450 landfill gas
projects operational in 2007,
11 billion kWh of electricity was
generated and 78 billion cubic
feet of gas was supplied to end
users.
21. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Landfill Gas Energy Basics, LFG Energy Project
Development Handbook, 16 Feb. 2009.
22. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Protection Agency LMOP: Benefits of
Energy, Web. 27 Nov. 2009.
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Biomass Gasification
Biomass gasifiers are of two
kinds updraft and downdraft.
The efficiency of updraft
gasifiers ranges from 80 to 90
per cent on account of efficient
counter-current heat exchange
between the rising gases and
descending solids.
However, the tars produced by
updraft gasifiers imply that the
gas must be cooled before it
can be used in internal
combustion engines.23
23. Zafar S. Woody Biomass Conversion Technologies, Alternative Energy and Fuels, October 6
2008.
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Microbial Electrolysis
Highest hydrogen production rate reported is17.8 m3/m3d,
Eap = 1 V.13

24. Cheng S. and Logan B.E. Biores. Technol. 2011, 102, 35713574.
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Conclusions
Biofuels have been, and will continue to be, an
important part of our ever developing society.
As a nation we have decided to try and double the
amount of biofuels being produced by 2035.
There is a lot of active research being done here in
San Diego on alternative fuels, especially algae
based biofuels.

Acknowledgments
Jillian L. Blatti - UCSD
Everyone in attendance
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